Monday, October 31, 2005

In spite of lip service about an `agreement' between terrorist groups and Abbas' Palestinian Authority about a halt in missle attacks, a fresh barrage of five Qassam missles was launched at Israel today from Gaza. Israeli Defense Minister Mofaz's remarks yesterday about peace being impossible with the present Palestinian Government and about Abbas essentially being an empty suit seem to ring true the more time passes.Jerusalem Post | Breaking News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World

As a reminder that the victims of Jihad have a human face, here are the faces of the murder victims of the Hadera bombings last week.

They could easily be your husband, your aunt,your uncle, your wife or your brother or sister. And it could easily be your country,your town, instead of a market in Israel.

The rest of the victims who were injured and maimed for life will have to live with their undeserved pain and suffering for years.

Remember these faces the next time some idiot start talking to you about `militants' or `hardliners' instead of labeling the perpetrators as terrorist murderers.

As the Freedom Fighter predicted, a combination of Russia,China and the Muslim bloc watered down the UN's Security Council resolution on Syria out of all recognition, dropping the threat of sanctions in favor of a vague mention of `further action'. Algeria represented the Muslim bloc in this charade. The wording about `further action' only happened when Condi Rice and John Bolton insisted on it, after a tough battle.Syria will have to turn over the suspects in the Hariri assasination,including president Assad's brother and brother-in law.

What I want to know is why the US and the West continue to waste time on this kind of futility? However the resolution was adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter which makes it militarily enforcible.

In other news, the standoff continues in Lebanon with the Palestinian Armed militias. The Lebanese army continues to surround the bases of the Syrian armed and trained Palestinian army, who are now holding 6 Lebanese troops as hostages, including an officer.

The remarks by Iran's President Ahmadinejad calling for Israel to be `wiped off the map' seems to have shocked the so-called `international community'. I can't imagine why. Iran has been pretty open about it's ambitions regarding Israel for some time now.

Speaking on the sidelines of a large anti-Israel rally in Tehran after the remarks went public, , Ali Larijani, who shapes the foreign policy of the new government and heads the Supreme National Security Council, described the protests and international indignation over Ahmadinejad's comments on Israel as "all smoke and no fire".

"They cry scandal because they know that a world without Israel is a dream of more than a billion and half Muslims of the planet," said Larijani.

Based on the virtual abscence of any criticism of Ahmadinejad's call for a new Holocaust from the Arab world, he's probably not far wrong.

This ties in nicely with a small news item in the UAE's Gulf Times I noticed that pretty pretty much underlined something I knew already, but in a uniquely clear and simple way.

On my website, Joshuapundit.blogspot.com, I profiled the diplomatic hoo ha that occurred in the wake of Israel's evicton of Jewish inhabitants from Gaza and Ariel Sharon's subsequent visit to the UN. With all the hubbub,has anyone noticed that not a single Arab Muslim nation opened relations with Israel that didn't already have them? And the few who made positive noises about increased ties backed off rapidly?

Tunisia is a moderate Arab nation, and hardly an enemy of Israel. In the course of Sharon's UN visitMohammad Ghannouchi,Tunisian Prime Minister, talked openly about closer commercial ties and invited Israel to attend the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) being held in Tunis. As soon as that news got out, Ghannouchi was forced to issue a quick disclaimer while visiting the UAE with a commercial delegation(which appeared 9/30/05 in the Gulf News, as well as other places) stating that it was just a quick pro forma invite and that it didn't signify actually having `relations' with Israel.

Moreover, Ghannouchi stated that Tunisia would stick to the Arab Peace Plan adopted by the Beirut Summit in March 2002.

That `peace plan' for those who've forgotten, was created by the Saudis and endorsed by Arab leaders in Beirut. It promised Israel recognition and "normal ties' with the Arab countries- without defining what normal ties meant- if the Jewish state fully withdrew to the pre-1967 borders and allowed the return of all refugees to their homes in` Palestine.'

In other words, the Israelis retreat to indefensible borders, give up land legally purchased from the Arabs like Gush Etzion, agree to divide Jerusalem again, and make refugees out of thousands of their countrymen..while letting in hordes of homicidal Arab `refugees' into what's left of Israel. In exchange for that, they get `recognition and normal relations', whatever that means..at least for as long as the country survives! Sounds fair, doesn't it?

Ghannouchi went on to say that Tunisia had no probelems with Israel, but that any relations would only happen " if our Palestinian brothers are satified and after Israel agrees to the conditions set by the Arab leaders in Beirut for peace with Israel."

And the Tunisians are hardly alone. Our allies, Jaafari in Iraq and Karzai in Afghanistan are on record as stating that there will be no relations with Israel until the Palestinians are happy...and our ally Musharref in Pakistan caused violent riots in his country last month by even suggesting exchanging ambassadors with Israel! Don't even ask about the rest of the Arab world. The countries that aren't avidly calling for Israel's annihilation are all sticking to the Saudi plan..which would basically accomplish the same thing.

If even moderate Arab nations are going to insist that Israel commit national suicide as a prerequisite for `normal relations', including those fledgling democracies America is so proud of nurturing, the prospects of Israel living in peace next to the Arabs anytime soon aren't exactly something I'd count on.

Before I met my wife, I once was involved in an affair with an extremely attractive woman..the kind of girl who turns heads when she walks into a room and makes all of your male friends wonder what she could possibly see in you. Aside from being drop dead gorgeous, she was fun loving, amorous and exciting.

As I got to know her better, I realized that along with these qualities, she was dishonest in the extreme and saw nothing wrong in lying even about small matters, had highly questionable ethics that could best be described as amoral, and was totally untrustworthy and unreliable in every way. In short, all that beauty was little more than a mirage. I remained in denial about it for awhile, but once I realized this, I understood that any kind of real relationship with her was not only impossible, but actually detrimental to my happiness even in the short term..so I opted out and moved on.

Israel is in kind of the same place now that I was then.

For years, Israel has been `dating' that beautiful mirage known as the peace process, remaining in denial and hoping that with a few little changes and concessions here and there, a little patience, a little understanding, things will all work out. The Arab world's reaction to things like Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and Ahmadinejad's remarks ought to be a clear indication of what the chances of that are!

It's time Israel looked reality in the face and realized that it ain't gonna happen, at least not in the foreseeable future. And conducted itself accordingly. Denial, as they say, isn't a river in Egypt.

Friday, October 28, 2005

It's taken a while,but the Danes, like the Dutch have finally realized the threat from jihad on their soil and have begun to react appropriately. Al Qaeda's recent threats, which named Copenhagen as a potential target, shocked the entire country.

First, the Danish PM refused to knuckle under to Islamic threats and curtail free speech in this historically liberal and tolerant country, as the country's head `imam' was turned away when he demanded government action against a Danish newspaper:Latest Jyllands-Posten

This takes place against a long time background of rapes, street crime and even public honor killings that have originated in a largely unassimilated Muslim community in Denmark, and have stigmitized this normally tolerant nation.

"They are free to talk but their words do not have any validity. It is natural that if a word is right and just it will provoke a reaction.They are cheeky humans and they think that the entire world should obey them."

- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday dismissing international condemnation of his call for Israel to be "wiped off the map" as tens of thousands of Iranians massed to condemn the Jewish state.Ahmadinejad was quoted by the official news agency IRNA.

For some reason, there are people who were actually shocked..shocked...at the Iranian president call for Israel to be `wiped off the map' at a `World Without Zionism' conference hosted by the Iranian government in Teheran. I can't imagine why.

While world leaders from Tony Blair to Kofi Annan expressed their `dismay', and in some cases even stronger sentiments, as in the US House of Representatives FOXNews.com - Politics - House Condemns Iran's Threats Against Israel the reality is that Iran has been saying this in thought, word and deed for some time. It can't have been a mystery to anyone. This was perhaps just a bit more blatent than the norm.

The Iranian press,of course, backed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's remarks to the hilt, and tens of thousands of Iranians participated in anti-Israel rallies that obviously were planned long before these remarks surfaced and timed accordingly.

Speaking on the sidelines of the rally in Tehran, Ali Larijani, who shapes the foreign policy of the new government and heads the Supreme National Security Council, described the protests and international indignation over Ahmadinejad's comments on Irsrael as "all smoke and no fire".

"They cry scandal because they know that a world without Israel is a dream of more than a billion and half Muslims of the planet," said Larijani.

At least he's honest about his aspirations.

Israel, for its part went through the futile gesture of actually attempting to get the UN to abide by its own charter,which calls for the expulsion of any member state calling for the exterminaton of a fellow member state. Good luck with that. Here's betting it will take a couple of weeks to even come up with a Security Council statement watered down enough to please Kofi, the Russians and the Muslim bloc...if even that much.

Yep, the boys at the IDF wiped out Shadi Mohanna, the Islamic Jihad field commander for northern Gaza, and his assistant, Mohammed Ghazaineh, along with 5 other terorist hangers on.

Abdel Khalim Izzadin, West Bank `commander' of Islamic Jihad was tracked down at his hole in Jenin. After a brief standoff, Izzadin and three other men realized that their options were kinda limited so they surrendered. Must have lacked faith in Allah and the 72 virgins.

This renewed activity followed a homicide bombing in Hadera that took the lives of 5 innocent non-combatants in a market at Hadera,along with continued terrorist assaults and missle launches against Israel.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

"We can rise again. We can rule the world again. I give you a simple recipe. Donate money and sons for jihad and your glorious days will return. The entire world will be under your control. Bush and Blair will become your slaves and lick your boots.'"

Imam Hafiz Abdur Rehman Makki, leader and Imam of Jamia Mosque Quba, run by Jamat-ud Dawa. One of the most popular Islamic clerics in Pakistan.

Anybody out there still think these folks are kidding?And meanwhile, the beat goes on as the Iranians continue to work on their nuclear arsenal, courtesy of Putin and the Russians. And Bush and Rice think the UN is going to do anything about this situation?

As I wrote previously, the best way to derail Iran's nukes is to take out their oilfields and disrupt the cash flow. No cash flow, no nuclear program.

Just another day in Israel...Islamic Jihad unleashed a suicide bomber into Israel proper and murdered 5 people.Jerusalem Post | Breaking News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish WorldIslamic Jihad claimed that it was `revenge' for Israel taking out one of their leaders,Louey Saadi, a top Jihad leader in the West Bank. But since we all know that these operations take a while to plan, this was obviously an end of Ramadan greeting for the Jews of Israel. And envoy James Wolfenson wants Israel to `open up its borders and facilitate movement for the Palestinians into Israel! Yeah, right.

You first, Jim. The sooner Israel seals off its borders with these people, the better.

Meanwhile,the Qassam missles continued unabated.Fresh missle attacks were made against Sderot and another Qassam missile was fired out of Gaza Strip to the north, against Netiv Ha’asara opposite the Erez border terminal which Israel reopened Wednesday. The Pals are nothing if not consistent. They timed the missle shoot EXACTLY at the end of the meeting between Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and Egypt's president Mubarrek in Cairo, to let Israel and Egypt know that that the Palestinian terrorists have their own agenda and that that neither Egypt nor Israel will be allowed to determine the arrangements at the border crossings. In any event,Mofaz and Mubarrek came to no agreement...not surprising since the Egyptian basically trashed the painstaking agreements made between Israel, Egypt and the USA to control the security of the borders in Gaza.

Monday, October 24, 2005

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has reportedly made a deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (Milf) to partition Mindanao for a virtual independent and sovereign "BangsaMoro" state. Khaleej Times Online

The new state will have it's own executive, legislative and judicial powers as well as its own military and police forces. The takeover of military reservations includes the return to the Milf of the military camps recaptured by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in 2000, such as Camp Abubakar and other satellite camps, as well as the Buliok complex.The second largest island in the Philippines is now a jihad-friendly zone. Here's the kicker: any bets on how long before the `peace' bought by Arroyo evaporates and the Muslims in Mindanao start pushing Jihad terrorism into the rest of the Islands? And why not? Arroyo just proved to the Muslims that terrorism works!

This scumbag,the pal of Jihadists in Iran and Syria became a posterboy for the anti-war Left by putting on his act for the US Senate. Turns out now that Norm Coleman (R-MN) had this creep dead to rights.

If you remember, the Freedom Fighter predicted last month (`So How're we doing in Iraq? September `05) that the referendum WOULD be successful, and that the terrorists, reeling from the blows inflicted by our superb military, would launch a last ditch Tet style offensive to try anf influence hearts and minds here. With the media all geared up to celebrate America's 2000th KIA, it's not the worst tactic. But at least Uncle Wally and Dapper Dan aren't there to help shovel the shinola.

Sunday, October 23, 2005

The Simpsons made their debut on an Arab satellite TV network, MBC, earlier this month, but the show has been re-named Al Shamsoon. Along with the new name, America's most beloved cartoon family has also picked up some interesting new habits. ...

Homer Simpson, now Omar Shamsoon, looks like the same beer-bellied good time guy, but on Arab TV he's given up alcohol and bacon (which are both against Islam), and no longer hangs out at Moe's Bar. In Arabia, Omar swigs fizzy soda, and his hot dogs are barbecued Egyptian beef. The doughnuts he salivates over have become traditional Arab cookies called kahk.

Bart is now called Badr, and Maggie, Marge and Lisa are now `Islamically attired' and veiled. Moe's Bar has been written out entirely. So has the Church of Springfield. Others exorcised from the show include Jewish character Krusty [Krustofsky] the Clown and Reverend Lovejoy - apparently to keep them from "corrupting" audiences.

America, but not America. Or rather, using America to show ones distaste for America. And Jews. And Christians.

All jokes aside, this is an enormous stride for the Iraqi people; they now have a constitution and a republic..if they can keep it, as Ben Franklin once famously said. Congratulations and best wishes for them, indeed.

This by no means signals an end to the terrorism. But it gives the Iraqi people something to fight for..and it signals to the Sunni holdouts that they can either be part of the new democratic Iraq or in control of a poverty stricken oil poor enclave in the so-called Sunni Triangle while the Kurds and Shiites get on with rebuilding their respective nations.

US Secretary of State Condi Rice and British foreign minister Jack Straw are making hostile noises about `action' against Syria following the report on the Hariri assasination. Unfortunately, the forum they're choosing is the UN, already comprimised by Kofi Annan's attempt to `edit' the report to keep senior figures of the Assad regime from being implicated, as reported yesterday in Joshuapundit.

Minister Straw said there is evidence of ``false testimony being given by senior people in the regime'' of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Gee, Mr. Minister...Assad's brother and brother-in-law as well as other key figures in the regime were implicated in the UN report..ya think maybe they weren't exactly forthcoming about their involvement?

Ultimately, I wouldn't expect any great results to come out of the UN on this one; a large part of the Muslim bloc will vote against sanctions, and the Russians would veto it anyway if it got to the Security Council. Putin has quite an investment in Assad and isn't going to throw that away.

If Britain and America want to end the terrorist threat from Assad and stop him from funneling arms and men into Iraq, they're going to have to do it themselves. The UN can't be counted on for anything effective.

In other news, Syria's highest political body, the National Progressive Front rejected the UN report as "a distortion of the truth". Well how `bout that!Syria rejects UN Hariri report:

Saturday, October 22, 2005

US forces killed 20 insurgents and destroyed 5 safe houses for foreign terrorists Saturday in Husaybah, western Iraq near the Syrian border. One was taken captive.

Congrats, guys! Good Job!

In Israel, the IDF took out a couple of Palestinian jihadists who tried to ambush one of their patrols near Anabta, north of Tulkarm Friday night. The patrol was hunting Palestinian terrorists who've shooting up the roads in Judea and Samaria. They also rounded up 11 Hamas terrorists in a sweep in Hebron last night. Nice work, guys! Behatzlechah!

While the `civilian' nature of this agreement is emphazied, it doesn't take much to realize that the US and India are in the process of cementing a strategic partnership. Bush's upcoming visit will be historic. Nothing like a common enemy in wartime to pull people together....and with over a hundred million Muslims of its own and the ongoing terrorism in Kashmir and other areas, India has a real motivation.

-Freedom Fighter-

From the VOA:

India, US Reaffirm Civilian Nuclear DealBy Anjana Pasricha New Delhi21 October 2005India and the United States say both countries are fully committed to implementing a landmark civilian nuclear energy cooperation deal, signed earlier in the year. The U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns is on a visit to India.

After a day of intensive discussions with Indian officials in New Delhi, U.S. Undersecretary of State, Nicholas Burns, says he is confident the U.S. Congress will approve the nuclear energy agreement signed by the two countries in July.

As part of the deal, the United States has agreed to give India access to civilian nuclear energy technology barred so far to New Delhi because it is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. But it must be approved by the Congress and many members - both Republican and Democrat - have voiced concern that it could undermine global non-proliferation efforts.

Nevertheless, Mr. Burns says the Bush administration is winning support on Capitol Hill for the agreement.

"I am convinced that our Congress will support this," he said. "And I hope by the time President Bush visits India… in the early part of 2006, we will have made sufficient progress so that this agreement can be put into place. That is our hope and our expectation."

The nuclear deal was signed during a visit to Washington by Indian Prime Minister Manomohan Singh in July, amid steadily-warming ties between the two countries. If implemented, the agreement will help India meet its burgeoning energy needs.

As part of the deal, India has agreed to separate its military and civilian nuclear programs, and open its civilian reactors to international inspection to ensure that nuclear supplies are not diverted for military use.

Shyam Saran Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran, who led the discussions on the Indian side, says New Delhi is already working on how to implement its part of the agreement.

"In terms of some of the responsibilities which India has to carry out, we have delivered on some of them…," he said. "We are already conforming to and becoming a partner in a global nonproliferation regime and we see ourselves both the United States and India - as partners in this effort."

Mr. Burns says the United States sees India emerging as a "major partner" in the coming years. He is scheduled to hold more discussions with Indian officials on Saturday.

India's growing proximity to Washington is believed to have influenced New Delhi to vote with Washington last month to threaten Iran with referral to the U.N. Security Council, for its nuclear activities.

In New Delhi, Mr. Burns called on Tehran to return to negotiations and find a diplomatic solution regarding the nuclear issue.

Friday, October 21, 2005

Poor Abbas! He's fast turning into the Rodney Dangerfield of the Middle East, who `just can't get no repect.'

First, he has the deteriorating conditions on the ground and Hamas and al Aksa basically controlling all of the Palestinian territory aside from a small bloc around Ramallah, and apparently shooting and kidnapping Palestinian `policemen' at will.

Second, one of Abbas’s closest associates, civil affairs minister and Pal warlord Mohammed Dahlan (remember him? the great white hope of the Bush Administration to handle Pal security?), touted to be his ally in controlling Gaza takes off with the money he stole from the EU and UN and runs off to Montenegro, where he has settled with his family and gone back to his business activities and tells anybody who asks that he has washed his hands of Abbas for good.

Third, Sharon dials out of the summit that Abbas was touting as an opportunity to squeeze more concessions out of the Israelis.

And now, even Dubbya, the first President to really put muscle behind the idea of a Palestinian state essentially tells Abbas not to look for a Palestinian state `in my term' and that the Pals better start learning to help themselves before expecting more help from the USA, and that the Roadmap is on hold, to all intents and purposes until the Pals deliver on controlling Hamas and the other terrorists now controlling things. Bush refuses to set new Palestinian goal�-�Nation/Politics�-�The Washington Times, America's Newspaper

Ol' Abbas came into Washington with a huge wish list of concessions he wanted Bush to squeeze out of the Israelis. Instead, he basically got bitchslapped. According to a number of sources, the 45 minute meeting was mainly a Bush rundown of what he expects from Abbas if any assistance on further progress towards Palestinian independence is to be expected from Washington.

Aside from the usual hearts and flowers diplomatic tripe, Bush told Abbas plainly and simply that if he wants to have Hamas as part of his government, well and good...but he and the Pals are on their own. A regime dominated by terrorists cannot expected to be treated as a democracy. You pays your money and you takes your choice.

He also rejected Abbas' request to abandon the steps in the Roadmap and proceed directly to final steps negotiations..avoiding little inconveniences like confronting Hamas.

Outside, when they both faced reporters, President Bush drove home his new message in an answer to a Palestinian reporter. Asked if a Palestinian state would come about during his term as president, he replied: `My purpose is to lay the foundations for a state. Whether it comes about or not is up to the Palestinians'.

WHOOPSIE!

My personal prediction? Abbas has about reached the end of his usefullness to Hamas, Islamic Jihad, al Aksa and the other terrorist factions. Look for him to run off into exile soon or take a bullet.

Poor Abbas! He's fast turning into the Rodney Dangerfield of the Middle East, who `just can't get no repect.'

First, he has the deteriorating conditions on the ground and Hamas and al Aksa basically controlling all of the Palestinian territory aside from a small bloc around Ramallah, and apparently shooting and kidnapping Palestinian `policemen' at will.

Second, one of Abbas’s closest associates, civil affairs minister and Pal warlord Mohammed Dahlan (remember him? the great white hope of the Bush Administration to handle Pal security?), touted to be his ally in controlling Gaza takes off with the money he stole from the EU and UN and runs off to Montenegro, where he has settled with his family and gone back to his business activities and tells anybody who asks that he has washed his hands of Abbas for good.

Third, Sharon dials out of the summit that Abbas was touting as an opportunity to squeeze more concessions out of the Israelis.

And now, even Dubbya, the first President to really put muscle behind the idea of a Palestinian state essentially tells Abbas not to look for a Palestinian state `in my term' and that the Pals better start learning to help themselves before expecting more help from the USA, and that the Roadmap is on hold, to all intents and purposes until the Pals deliver on controlling Hamas and the other terrorists now controlling things. Bush refuses to set new Palestinian goal�-�Nation/Politics�-�The Washington Times, America's Newspaper

Ol' Abbas came into Washington with a huge wish list of concessions he wanted Bush to squeeze out of the Israelis. Instead, he basically got bitchslapped. According to a number of sources, the 45 minute meeting was mainly a Bush rundown of what he expects from Abbas if any assistance on further progress towards Palestinian independence is to be expected from Washington.

Aside from the usual hearts and flowers diplomatic tripe, Bush told Abbas plainly and simply that if he wants to have Hamas as part of his government, well and good...but he and the Pals are on their own. A regime dominated by terrorists cannot expected to be treated as a democracy. You pays your money and you takes your choice.

He also rejected Abbas' request to abandon the steps in the Roadmap and proceed directly to final steps negotiations..avoiding little inconveniences like confronting Hamas.

Outside, when they both faced reporters, President Bush drove home his new message in an answer to a Palestinian reporter. Asked if a Palestinian state would come about during his term as president, he replied: `My purpose is to lay the foundations for a state. Whether it comes about or not is up to the Palestinians'.

WHOOPSIE!

My personal prediction? Abbas has about reached the end of his usefullness to Hamas, Islamic Jihad, al Aksa and the other terrorist factions. Look for him to run off into exile soon or take a bullet.

In typical UN fashion, Kofi Annan and friends vetted the long awaited report on Rafik Hariri's assasination as UN investigator Detlev Mehlis admitted he excised five senior Syrian officials’ names from the published version of his report from the original, including Assad's brother Maher and Gen. Assef Shawqat, the president’s brother-in-law and military intelligence chief.

The other three are: Gen. Roustum Ghazali, head of special external intelligence and former Syrian military intelligence chief in Lebanon, Gen. Hassan Khalil, liaison between the various Syrian intelligence bodies, and Col. Mohsein Hamoud, a former military intelligence officer who served in Lebanon.

Don't you just love CBS News? `Violence Erupts'..just sorta happened by accident, like a car wreck or a tornado. How `bout `Israel retaliates for Palestinian attacks'? HMMM? Nah. Wouldn't be CBS then, would it?

Israel did it's usual thing..restoring West Bank roadblocks to Judea and Samaria and banning Palestinian private cars from the roads. The brave guys at the Fatah-al Aqsa Brigades did the deed.

A car full of armed Palestinians sprayed the Gush Etzion intersection hitch-hiking post. Forty minutes later, gunmen in a second car opened fire on an Israeli car at Eily east of Ariel. The driver was seriously hurt. Hamas in Hebron provided the cars and the weapons. For those who don't know, hitchhiking is quite popular in Israel...or at least it was.

The West Bank roadblocks were dismantled three months ago as Israeli confidence-building concessions to Mahmoud Abbas. Did a lot of good, eh? The IDF is also considering restoring the military blockade of Bethlehem, site of another group of terrorist killers..

Sharon apparently blew a gasket when he heard about the attacks...and about an unexploded Qassam missle that landed right near his ranch in S'derot. He ordered the withdrawal of a number of concessions designed to `bolster' Abbas' grip on power as a bit too costly in Israeli lives.

Abbas, of course, had nothing to say about the attacks. He's posing as weak to back up his appeal for urgent assistence to save him from collapse when he meets with Dubbya Oct. 2oth. He's actually ignoring/embracing the violence at this point to convince the Americans to squeeze more concessions out of Israel.

This is part of a three way deal between Russia, Iran and North Korea enabling Teheran to receive clandestine shipments of technology anfd hardware, chanelled through Russia.

This will enable Iran to hit most of Europe and all of Israel with a 1.2 ton payload..sufficient for a nuclear payload.

The Russians are acting as go-betweens with North Korea as part of a multi-million pound deal they negotiated between Teheran and Pyongyang in 2003. It has enabled Teheran to receive regular clandestine shipments of top secret missile technology, believed to be channelled through Russia.

North Korea has developed a missile, the Taepo Dong 2, that could reach America's west coast, based on the submarine-launched Soviet SSN6. Modifications allow it to be fired from a land-based transporter and this technology is being smuggled to Teheran with Russian help.

Condi Rice, of course came back from Russia empty handed, as the Freedom Fighter predicted. Putin essentially told her to go pound sand when she asked for Russia's help in referring Iran to the UN Security Council for sanctions.Russia brushes aside critics of Iran nuclear support

Condi Rice is caught between trying to give Euroweenies like the French a spine on Iran's nukes, while trying to talk Putin into actually acting like the ally against Jihad he's supposed to be...Rice Seeks Russian Support on Iran - Yahoo! News

The so-called `consultations' are coming a scant 6 weeks before a vote on whether to refer Iran's constant violations of nuke policy to theDREADED UN SECURITY COUNCIL!!

That'll learn `em a lesson! Might even put sanctions in place, like with Sadaam..that worked real well!

(Thanks and a hat tip to the Butcher at Sacredcowburgers.com)One day, and hopefully before it's too late, Dubbya, Condi and company will realize that the Russians are not to be trusted and neither are the UN or the Europeans when it comes to US security. Nor can the Iranians be trusted to keep any agreement they make with us beknighted infidels. An ultimatum to the mullahs, followed by a decisive strike on their oil fields to cut off their cash flow would probably do more to solve the problem than all of the meaningless diplomacy, in the Freedom Fighters opinion. it may very well come to that in the end anyway.

A key event is deciding exactly how Iraq's future wil run is set for tommorow as the Iraqi people vote on their constitutioal referendum. Terrorists attempted to short circut this (literally!) by knocking out power in key areas. We'll see what develops..

My predication? I say it passes and the Iraqis adopt their new constitution, but that the vote will be close enough to ensure that the terorism continues. Old hatreds die hard in this part of the world.Jerusalem Post | read more here

Al Qaeda terrorists struck this large city in the Caucasus region on October 12, the capital of the Muslim republic of Kabardino-Balkaria bordering on Chechnya. This area is also a stones throw from the Beslan School, where the last raid by the adherants of the Religion of Peace caused 332 dead, mostly children.

Some 300 terrorists mounted simultaneous raids in Nalchik on 3 police headquarters, federal military bases, armories and the regional airport in the capital of the Muslim republic of Kabardino-Balkaria bordering on Chechnya. The police HQ caught fire, another police building was besieged and hostages were taken.

Putin sealed off the city and gave Russian security forces carte blanche on killing the terrorists and freeing the city. On October 13th, Russian federal troops and special forces supported by combat helicopters and armed vehicles engaged the terrorists in clashes during the day. At least 85 terrorists were killed in the assaults, but it's uncertain how many of the dead were civilians or how many terrorists escaped.

One thing that is certain is that the Islamist terrorists seized sizeable quantities of weapons in their raids on police stations and armories.

This is a strategic area for the Islamists, first because of the prescence of non-Arab ethnic Muslims (The Muslims in this region are mostly Circassians)but as a foil to American bases located in nearby Georgia. This area was a major staging ground for Saudi Wahhabis fighting in the Chechen rebellion against Russia. This group later left to join Abu Musab al Zarqawi’s terrorist army in Iraq..and al Qaeda moved in.

The story behind the story is that Putin is reportedly outraged at this breach of his agreement with Iran, who were supposed to cut off the flow of armed men and weapons to Chechnya in exchange for Putin selling the Mullahs arms and building nukes for them. I don't doubt that the wires between Moscow and Teheran were pretty busy.

Monday, October 10, 2005

As Joshuapundit reported yesterday, ain't no use having a sitdown when there's nothing to talk about.

Abbas has even refused to disarm their own Fatah militia in Lebanon, centered in camps like Ein-al-Hewar (Eye of the Beauty). For those who aren't aware, the Lebanese army surrounded these camps 20 years ago, after Israel pulled out and has maintained them as a large jail ever since. No one gets in or out, except UN functionaries bringing in supplies, and `Palestinians' in Lebanon are forbiden to work,own property and for the most part even venture outside the camps unless under military or police escort. Kinda puts a different perspective on the so-called Israeli `occupation', doesn't it?

As Joshuapundit reported, a number of fighters affiliated with Hamas and armed by the Syrians have gotten out of the camps ..and were sent to the Bek'aa Valley to train with Hezbollah and to Gaza.

Washington and the EU want the Fatah military disarmed,in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution that ordered Syria's evacuation and the disarming of the various militias in Lebanon, including Hezbollah. But Abbas has refused.

Putin Strikes Again-Vladimir Putin once more proved he is no friend of the US or the West by breaking a promise to President Bush and Ariel Sharon and supplying Syria with the Iskander 26 mobile surface missle. With a 400-km range and a 480-kilo warhead the missiles can easily hit anywhere in Israel. The system can be used against small and large targets alike, easily overcoming air defenses. It is almost impossible for existing electronic weapons systems to prevent the Iskander’s launch because of its speed and high flexibility. Its targets are found in mid-flight by satellites, accompanying airplanes, conventional intelligence centers or a lone soldier directing artillery fire. Targets may also be found by feeding photos into the missile’s computer by means of a scanner. Back in January of 2005 Moscow announced the news of a big new arms deal with Syria that included the following missiles: the Iskander SS-26, SA-10 Grumble ground-to-air, and SA-18 Grouse (Igla 9K38) shoulder-launched anti-air missiles capable of hitting objects at an altitude of 3,600 meters and range of 5,200 meters.

Sharon in a summit with Putin shortly afterward protested and let him know that the proposed sale was unacceptable and would radically alter the balance of power inthe region. Washington weighed in as well, maintaining it posed a threat to the US army in Iraq.

After weeks of `diplomacy' and pressure, president Vladimir Putin and defense minister Sergei Ivanov relented and promised Washington and Jerusalem to withhold the Iskander SS-26 from Syria. The other items would be modified and rendered fit for defensive use only.

Looks like Putin’s promise to the Americans and Israelis to withhold the missile’s sale was no more than a time-winning ploy until an opportunity presented itself to go through with the transaction.

Just like Russia's building of nuclear sites and defenses in Iran, this is a clear signal that Putin and Russia have their own agenda and are no allies of the West in the fight against jihad.

Sunday, October 09, 2005

President Bush did his very best arm twisting behind the scenes, but he must realize that this is a non-starter at this point. Gaza was a message to everyone of exactly how `peaceful' the Palestinians are likely to be in the future towards Israel and the West.

Here's the skinny, plain and simple. Abbas, acting on orders from al-Aksa and Hamas wants more terrorists released from Israeli prisons, less security control at the borders by Israel, and even more arms for his private militia. Israel refuses to do any of this until Abbas does step one of the so-called Roadmap..disarming terrorists and ending the attacks on Israel. Abbas still has never found a single terrorist worthy of being put in jail, let alone disarmed. Not if he knows what's good for him.

Aside from the fact that the PA is among the recipiants of the plethora of arms that continue to be smuggled into Gaza from Sinai and elsewhere, maybe Sharon and Mofaz rememember the thousands of M-16s and other arms given to Arafat's security forces after Oslo by Israel to help `fight terrorists and restore order'.Those weapons ending up murdering a lot of Israeli civilians.

Scotland Yard arrested 10 British Islamists who were plotting multiple car bomb terrorism in London, Derby and Wolverhampton as a "follow-up" to the July 7 attacks on London.. Scotland Yard says they are al Qaeda linked - like it matters? Car bomb attacks foiled - Sunday Times - Times Online

Thursday, October 06, 2005

I happened to hear President Bush's speech today, in its entirety. It was a pretty mixed bag.

Some of what he had to say obviously needed to be said..that there is no compromising or appeasing Islamic fascism is obvious. But he again either chose to ignore or was simply unwilling to bring up the fact that it ain't just Osama and al Qaeda we're up against. It is a substantial part of Islam. In Britain, after the 7/7 bombings, over 60% of DOMESTIC British Muslims who were polled said that they would NOT help the British government against al Qaeda or other Islamic terrorists. One wonders what the figures are here in the good ol' USA.

Bush is dissembling when he states that `numerous Muslim scholars' have condemned terrorism and the murder of innocent people. In fact, while some have, and Bush was able to cite one unnamed imam who did, the silence of much of the Muslim world is palpable.

Interestingly enough, Bush chose to quote the Q'uranic verse citing Chapter 5, Verse 32 of the Koran, which states that killing an innocent human being is like killing all humanity, and saving the life of one person is like saving all of humanity. Perhaps he's unaware of the Islamic doctrine of Abrogation, which gives precedence to the later verses..like this one:

Qur’an 9:5 “When the sacred forbidden months for fighting are past, fight and kill disbelievers wherever you find them, take them captive, beleaguer them, and lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem of war.

Or maybe this one:

Qur’an 47:4 “So, when you clash with the unbelieving Infidels in fighting Jihad in Allah’s Cause, smite their necks until you overpower them, killing and wounding many of them. At length, when you have thoroughly subdued them, bind them firmly, making (them) captives. Thereafter either generosity or ransom (them based upon what benefits Islam) until the war lays down its burdens. Thus are you commanded by Allah to continue carrying out Jihad against the unbelieving infidels until they submit to Islam.”

There's more, a lot more, but I think you get the point. Bush is undoubtedly correct that there are a lot of Muslims who despise Islamic terrorism...but there are also lots of them who obviously think it's just fine. And why not? Don't the Q'uran and Hadith sanction it? All according to what you read in the Q'uran...and who's reading and interpeting it.

Fact is, we're doing very little to encourage moderate Islam, or even challenging American Muslims to take sides in this fight. If anything, we make it more difficult by allowing the Saudis free reign when it comes to allowing foreign funding of mosques and madrassahs to preach wahabism, importing radical mullahs to our shores, funding biased chairs of `middle east studies' in our major universities and hiring ex-cabinet members and diplomats as lobbyists and shills. A forceful, unambiguous stance might just have the effect of bringing a lot of American Muslims into this war on our side. As it is, they're getting every encouragement to keep their heads down and be passive at best, and to hedge their bets by giving at least tacit support to radical Islam at worst. And that's something the President didn't address at all.

And here's another kicker: on the one hand, Bush says that those who harbor terrorism and support it are the enemies of freedom and of America. And he specifically mentioned Iran and Syria, twice. Well and good. But to refer to Saudi Arabia as our `friend' when Karen Hughes was just there politely asking the Saudis to PLEASE try and curb the hate literature and radical wahabi imams to the mosques and madrassahs they fund here in America and all over the world..whom does Bush think he's kidding?J O S H U A P U N D I T: Pretty Please?? Hughes asks Saudis to curb hate literature in US mosques.

We just had a second bombing in Bali by Jemaah Islamiyah, and the radicalization of Indonesia funded by the Saudis is so pervasive that the `spiritual head' of the movement, Abu Baker Bashir who masterminded the first Bali bombing is to be released in an amnesty after serving 20 months by the Indonesian government due to the lobbying of the Islamist political parties there.

Here in my native Los Angeles, we experienced one of those attempted `al Qaeda attacks' Bush spoke of where a group of local Muslims was planning to incinerate part of the Jewish Comunity in their synogogues during the Jewish High Holy Days this October, and only got caught because one of them dropped a cell phone at a crime sceneDaniel Pipes: L.A.'s thwarted terror spreeGuess who funded the Islamic indoctrination of these guys in prison and in local madrassahs and who funded their mosque, Jamat-E-Masijidul Islam? Yup. Our `friends' the Saudis.

And what about our `friends' in the Palestinian Authority? Funny, Bush didn't mention them. It's common knowledge that Hezbollah is training the Palestinians and supplying them with weapons..that goes back to Arafat and the Katrina A arms ship. And Hamas is officially recognized by our government as a terrorist group and Abbas and company continue to harbor them, yet WE in the good ol' USA continue to give them money..not to mention the EU and the UN. Maybe the President felt his speech was too long to bring that little morsel of information up and include Abbas and the boys as terror enablers.

And it's hardly enough, as far as I'm concerned, to make harsh noises about Iran while leaving the problem in the decisive hands of the EU. Seems to me that if Dubbya was REALLY serious about stopping the mullahs from getting nukes, a decisive, devastating raid on the Iranian oil fields would be a lot more effective than any `sanctions' or attempts to knock out underground bunkers. Just stop the cash flow- the Russians aren't going to build nuclear facilities for the Iranians if the Iranians can't pay them. But that's undoubtedly too simple a solution for Washington. It lacks the sophisticated, subtle understanding of geopolitics as practiced by our state department and the good folks at the UN.

Bush is correct to compare Islamism to communism..first time he's done that, ever. And the challenge we are going to face indefeating Islamism is similar to that which we faced in the Cold War. He deserves a great deal of credit for finally putting this into words. But to gloss over a significant source of the problem was dishonest on the face of it.

Just as dishonest is suggesing, as Bush did, that poverty or a `lack of hope' are responsible for Islamism. In fact, jihad's most fervent practitioners, like bin Laden, the London bombers or Mohammed Atta are overwhelmingly from the wealthy or middle classes of Islam. Or for that matter, the House of Saud, who mainly stick to the financing and indoctrination end of things. I guess they don't count and are our `friends' because we need the oil and the petro dollars just now..

Or maybe it's just that Dubbya's more comfortable with the Saudis since he's known most of them for so long...I actually understand that part of it, even though I think it is an error of historic magnitude. It's normal to think well of one's friends. Perhaps President Bush is unaware of the Islamic concept of taqiya, or dissembling to non-believers to advance Islam.

Even on Iraq, where Bush is justifiably proud of the progress being made politically, he omits the fact that the Saudis put intense pressure on him to push the Shiites and Kurds to make major concessions to their Sunni pals..who are the main obstacle to the Federalist Democracy he envisions there because most of them can't give up the idea of bringing back the good old days when they were top o' the heap and could kick around the Turkmen, Shiites and Kurds at will.

So what we have here, like I said is a very mixed bag. Bush definitively stated a committment to victory but shied away fromfully identifying the enemy. Bush asked for `sacrifice and committment' but held off from going into specifics about what `sacrifices' he's talking about. And most importantly, the president failed to be completely honest with the American people about what we are fighting and how we're going to go about it.

A step in the right direction, but hardly an epiphany.

President Bush would do far better to level with the American people and call for their direct assistance in winning this war. He might be surprised at just how unified and effective their response might be.

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Abu Bakar Bashir, `Spiritual Leader' of Jemaah Islamiyah, and the mastermind behind the 2002 Bali Bombings in an interview :: The First Post ::

SA: What can the West, especially the US, do to make the world more peaceful?

ABB: They have to stop fighting Islam. That's impossible because it is sunnatullah [destiny, a law of nature], as Allah has said in the Koran. If they want to have peace, they have to accept to be governed by Islam.

The recent carnage in Bali has a number of things to say to us about jihad..if we feel like listening.

Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim country, with all the `correct' Islamic positions on Iraq and Israel. At the time of the last Bali bombings, the popular wisdom was that Jemaah Islamiyah had gone too far and distanced itself from the mainstream of popular thought in Indonesia. So why would Jemaah Islamiyah, which almost ruined Indonesia's tourist economy 3 years ago by bombing exactly the same area strike here once again?

Indonesia, while a Muslim country, had always embraced a more moderate form of Islam than the Wahabi doctrine preached by the Saudis. In the last three years however, Indonesia (like Europe and America) has seen an influx in Saudi Wahabi financed imams and propaganda targeted at Indonesia's mosques and madrassahs. Indeed, there have been a number of arrests involving desecration of Muslim shrines thought to be heretical or too moderate! JI has been increasingly nurtured and growing in this Saudi supplied manure.

Bali is part of Indonesia, but it is predominantly Hindu, and thus populated with kaffirs (non-believers) fit only for the sword according to jihadist belief..not to mention the opportunity of killing a number of Christian infidels at the same time.

It also represents a soft target that the Islamists will continue to attack, even if it hurts Indonesia's economy. As a matter of fact, the Jihadists would rather that the country be poorer and more austere..it represents more fertile soil for them.

It's obvious that Jemaah Islamiyah is engaged in a strategic jihad in Indonesia and in neighboring nations with the ultimate objective of undermining the current governments and replacing them with Islamist regimes, from Mindanao to southern Thailand. This isn't a small group of fanatics who plot an explosion here and there.

The aim in Indonesia is to create an Islamist regime possesing control of Indonesia's vast population and oil reserves as a base for further expansion. If the Islamists gain control of Indonesia, it won't be a a parochial little dictatorship but a launching pad for Jihad throughout all Asia.

Bali underlines facts we seem almost to be falling over ourselves to deny; that Islamism isn't going to go away by itself even if the West throws Israel to the wolves and pulls out of the Middle East, and that Islamism's aim is to conquer and destroy.

I put this on the level of `sun rises in the East' in terms of a big surprise! However, it IS interesting that this anonymous official drew links to Hezbollah..hey, Brittania, I thought they were a legitimate political party..not mere terrorists!

Interestingly enough,while the al-Reuters article merely mentions a handful of Shiite attacks, the truth is that interrogations of Sunni fighters captured in-country have also revealed that that Iranian intelligence agents posted undercover in Iraq had paid them to attack American troops as well, approaching them with sizeable sums of cash and a list of US targets. Some Iraqi Sunni groups are finding that it pays handsomely to act as contract killers for Iranian intelligence.

These attacks are apparently linked to US forays across the border into Syria, and pressure on the Assad regime. Iran is apparently implementing its obligations under its mutual defense treaty with Syria.

One of my sources informed me that this development was a topic on the agenda of the meeting President Bush held Wednesday with the vice president, the secretary of defense and his top generals.

What I'd love to know is why the Americans are keeping this under wraps rather than using the publicity to increase the pressure on Teheran.

My guess is that the President and Secretary of State Rice still hold out hopes that the talks between Iran and the EU will somehow defuse the current nuke crisis.

Israel has halted its offensive on Palestinian terrorists for now, as the rocket attacks have ceased.Israel Suspends Gaza Offensive - Yahoo! News On the flip side, armed terorists and heavy weapons continue to flow into Gaza unimpeded..this is obviously just a break in the action.

In other news, Fatah and Hamas had a shootout over an attempt to stop son of late Hamas leader Rantisi at a Gaza City intersection Sunday night. Lots of casualties..the fighting spread to the nearby Shati refugee camp where Hamas shot four rocket-propelled grenades at a Palestinian police station and another at police in Sheikh Radwan, the Hamas stronghold in Gaza City. At least two Fatah Palestinian `policemen' are reported dead.Jerusalem Post | Breaking News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World

Hamas are angry with Abbas and Fatah anyway because of transparent vote manipulation and ballot stuffing in municipal elections that took place last week. The odds are pretty good that Hams will take over Gaza while Abbas is left with control of the Palestinian area around Ramallah..and Jibril Rajoub and other bosses divide up the rest. Maybe President Bush and the EU should think twice about lavishing millions in aid on these people...talk about throwing good money after bad!

The blasts at Jimbaran beach and a bustling outdoor shopping center in downtown Kuta "were clearly the work of terrorists," police Maj. Gen. Ansyaad Mbai, a top Indonesian anti-terrorism official, told The Associated Press.

The blasts occurred nearly three years to the day that bomb attacks in Kuta killed 202 people, mostly foreigners. Those attacks were blamed on the al-Qaida-linked terror group Jemaah Islamiyah.

Putu Putra Wisada, spokesman at the Sangla Hospital in the capital, Denpasar, said 11 dead were taken to the hospital and 38 others were admitted with injuries _ eight Australians, two Americans and 28 Indonesians.

A receptionist at the Graha Asih Hospital close to Jimbaran Bay said at least eight bodies were in its morgue, and that doctors were treating at least 13 other people.